Dictionary of Gnosis & Western Esotericism

Get access Subject: Religious Studies
Edited by: Wouter J. Hanegraaff, in collaboration with Antoine Faivre, Roelof van den Broek and Jean-Pierre Brach

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Dictionary of Gnosis & Western Esotericism Online is the comprehensive reference work to cover the entire domain of “Gnosis and Western Esotericism” from the period of Late Antiquity to the present. Containing around 400 articles by over 180 international specialists, Dictionary of Gnosis & Western Esotericism Online provides critical overviews discussing the nature and historical development of all its important currents and manifestations, from Gnosticism and Hermetism to Astrology, Alchemy and Magic, from the Hermetic Tradition of the Renaissance to Rosicrucianism and Christian Theosophy, and from Freemasonry and Illuminism to 19thcentury Occultism and the contemporary New Age movement. Dictionary of Gnosis & Western Esotericism Online also contains articles about the life and work of all the major personalities in the history of Gnosis and Western Esotericism, discussing their ideas, significance, and historical influence.

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UFO traditions

(4,143 words)

Author(s): Mayer, Jean-François
Among contemporary religious and esoteric phenomena, there are some which seem so closely associated with modern ideas and themes that it might be considered premature to associate them with a word like “tradition”, evocative of something with roots in a relatively long past. The esoteric currents associated with UFOs (Unidentified Flying Objects) represent such a case. The emergence of the “flying saucer” phenomenon is usually associated with Kenneth Arnold's (1915-1984) sightings in June 1947.…